The recent earthquakes that struck near the capital of Nepal have been some of the most devastating we have seen in a long while. The initial quake was registered as an 8.1 on the Richter scale, and achieved the maximum ranking on the Mercalli scale, with a total death toll of over 8,600.

George Barker, a Year 13 student at Ark 6th Form East Sussex, was touched by just how devastating the quakes have been, because there really was no way to predict what happened. George wanted to help reduce the impact on the Nepalese people; he saw that simple solutions were readily available – providing safe drinking water or temporary shelters and medical aid; he thought that anyone who is able to help should.

To do his part, he decided to do something that would really draw attention to the plight of the Nepalese people; he went bald. Staff and students from Ark 6th Form and throughout Hastings sponsored him to publicly shave all his hair off; they also paid to have a go at shaving it off themselves. George was left with a smooth, and rather cold, head but thought it was more than worth it as, so far, he has raised around £280 in a relatively short period of time. Hopefully, with the continued generosity of the public, he can continue to raise money, all of which will make a huge difference to those in need in Nepal.

After having all his hair shaved off, George said, “loads of people thought that I was crazy for getting rid of all of my hair; I think it was totally worth it, as it will help people in Nepal return their lives to normal, or as close to normal as possible.”

One of his friends, Max Graham, said, “It was great fun shaving his head, and it was all for a great cause.”, to which Abdul Khabbazeh added “I was delighted to see George’s gleaming scalp.”